Los incorregibles del sistema penitenciario liberal en España y Portugal (1870-1930)

Abstract

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the word “incorrigible” was used in a purely criminological and penological sense to speak of “natural born criminals” and “repeat offenders”. However, it also had another, far more pragmatic meaning that was restricted to the penitentiary sphere and the issue of the so-called “incorrigible” or “maladapted” prisoners. This problematic, encouraged by criminological positivism and globalised thanks to the constant holding of international meetings and congresses, also became a significant issue in Spain and Portugal, countries where correctionalism was the most prestigious current of criminological thought. In our investigation, besides covering the most significant features of a debate fuelled by the proposals of inocuización– penalties involving the incapacitation, neutralisation or elimination of offenders – put forward by positivism in opposition to correctionalism, we inquire into the real scope of the regulatory and organisational measures that were proposed with the express aim of neutralising, or separating from society for an indefinite time, convicts who were considered to be incorrigible.